KAPTAIN SUN

Interview with Andy (vocals, guitars)

Q>> Kaptain Sun is one of the few non-extreme bands that Rage Of Achilles signed lately... Are you happy with the label's work anyway?
A>> Hi! Actually, Kaptain Sun signed with Rage of Achilles in 2000. We released the EP "Trip to vortex" in September 2000. We're happy. I think it turned out well and the distribution is a lot bigger now then it was on our first release. A lot of great reviews are popping up all the time. I think that they sometimes are a little bit slow but I guess things don't move that fast in this business.

Q>> Duncan from ROA is a busy man indeed :) Yet, he's a really cool guy and a great talent finder! Have you heard some of his releases? Did you enjoy them?
A>> Yeah! He always has 101 things to do, according to his mails. :-) Is he in a band? Sounds exciting! What's the name of the band?

Q>> Oh, no, I meant, the ROA releases... I don't think Duncan plays in a band ;-) So did you hear stuff he released on his label?
A>> Aha, hehe… Yes, I have heard Facebreaker and Bullet. Facebreaker are cool - old school Death Metal. We've had gigs with Bullet, the latest was two weeks ago, those guys are cool too.

Q>> What's your definition of cool?
A>> I guess that's when someone is doing what they want and just go for it, never minding what other people around them think… Just doing your thing.

Q>> Let's go for a more complicated one ;-) Do you think anarchy can be a basic principle of freedom?
A>> No. Children and kids needs a guide to give them hints, not telling them what to do but leading them on the right track in life and showing them what's right and wrong. We all begin as a child so... Anarchy is a nice thought but all people are not, like you and me, filled with love.

Q>> You're probably right... Let's talk about your music now. How did you come up with the songs on "Rainbowride"? Was there a lot of thinking or was the creative part a very easy and natural process?
A>> Of course I'm right! :-) Well, we recorded the songs for "Rainbowride" in the summer of 2001. Some of the songs were made two years before we entered the studio. "Universe At Night" was finished in the studio so... Some of the songs came out easily; I remember how I made "Invisible Dragons"... I was down in the basement were we have a small gym. I was training on the exercise bike and just pushed myself to the limit. When I got up to my apartment - all sweaty and tired - I just grabbed the guitar and made basically the whole song in like 5 minutes. Other songs like "Golden Harvest" have a slightly longer story, where all the members of the band worked together making riffs and coming up with ideas. Marcus (drums) usually has one or two riffs in his wallet.

Q>> Yeah, drummers surely can't have anything else in their wallet, haha ;-) Now, still talking about composing, what's the best recipe? I mean, what songs do you enjoy most, the ones that came out in 5 minutes or the ones you all worked on for weeks?
A>> It's always fun to get a song finished quickly, but it's also fun to be into the making of a song and to see how it grows from fragments to a complete song. I can't say that I like a song more just because it was made in a special way... I like our songs because they're good. It doesn't matter how they where made.

Q>> Any faves though?
A>> I guess from the album its "Golden Harvest" I like to play most. But those things come and go, if you play a song a lot, you get tired of it. Now I want to play our new songs.

Q>> Are the new ones very different from the old ones?
A>> The new songs are definitely harder, more "punch your face Rock"! And when you're down you get a kick in the side. Kind of. Actually we're trying to get a more "hit factor" into the songs now.

Q>> Do you mean you wanna get a more "commercial" sound?
A>> I'm not sure, we still have our instrumental parts and transport-sections in the music, but most of the new songs are shorter so maybe, yeah, I guess you can say that the new stuff is more commercial in a way.

Q>> Have you ever feared you could lose your identity making such compromises? Do you consider your evolution as hundred percent spontaneous?
A>> Not really. We have made like 8 new songs since we recorded the album so it's a slow process. Changes don't come over a night. We don't think: "let's make a commercial song". If it happens it happens. Our identity is strong, we will always keep it heavy and underground, that's for sure. But still we will not hesitate to play the big festivals and make tours. There's nothing wrong with making money and selling records, just as long as you are honest to yourself.

Q>> Once again, you're right! Now, what do you think about that whole freaky underground Metal movement? All those bands and pseudo-labels that release demo tapes limited to 50 copies just to show off, making the others believe they're more "true" than any other band... let me know...
A>> Those things are not very familiar to me so to be honest I don't know. We're happy that we've got a "real" record deal and a label that can give us some support. I know that there are so many great bands out there that never get signed. I guess everything can be misused and the music industry is not an exception.

Q>> How come you guys manage to get there? Did you all learn to play alone?
A>> Well, we started playing together as a band in '93 (except for Andrey who joined in '98) so musically we know each other very well. Everyone in the band has learned to play by himself.

Q>> Are you all happy with your technical skills or are there still some things you'd like to learn?
A>> I'm learning all the time. I'm pretty happy with my guitar work although I would like to improve my solo work; there's just not enough time to both write songs and make riffs and practice the guitar. When it comes to the vocals, there's a lot of things that I would like to improve and try. I know I have improved a lot since our first release that was recorded in 1999. But improving and becoming a great guitarist or singer has never been the issue for me. I want to make strong and energetic songs that I can go crazy on stage to.

Q>> Time looks like a problematic issue... Do you all have full-time jobs?
A>> 3 of us are students and 1 has a full-time job. If we are to go on a big tour, everyone will drop what they are doing and put all their time into the band. I'm also into karate as member of the Swedish national team. Sometimes a gig collides with a karate competition and I have to make a choice. But there haven't been any big problems yet.

Q>> Hey, maybe you know Thomas Wolf... He plays the guitar in Stormwind and is also karate champion... Have you guys ever fought together?
A>> Not that I know of.

Q>> Looks like there's not a lot of contact between the bands in Sweden. How do musicians behave in general over there? Are there circles of friends or is everyone doing his own stuff and trying not to interfere too much with the others?
A>> I guess people try to help each other out pretty much. We try to get in contact with other bands on gigs and see if they can help us out getting more gigs and stuff. If you keep an open mind you will meet a lot of nice people and get good connections.

Q>> I thought Swedish people were less social... Apparently they're not that open... Is there a limit though to their "cool behavior"?
A>> In Sweden it's pretty much "mind your own business". But when you start talking to people they're always friendly and cool. In the music scene you have to play it cool and be nice if you want to get connections; there's no such thing as having too many friends. Hey, I thought that we were supposed to talk about Kaptain Sun and our new album? :) Well, that's what I want to talk about anyway.

Q>> OK, let's talk about more Kaptain Sun stuff ;) Tell me about the studio experience... Are you happy with the way the album sounds? Any regrets?
A>> We think it turned out well. We had some problems in the studio though. We recorded all the songs during the summer of 2001 and signed the deal in May 2002. So we decided to remix the songs. A week before we were supposed to remix the songs, the guy from the studio calls me and tells me that for some reason all the rhythm guitars had been deleted!? So I had to sit and play all the songs again (a feeling of déjà vu you could say). Pretty boring. Anyway, now we're pleased and everything feels good.

Q>> Did you change or adapt some parts during that re-recording session? More in general, do your songs "evolve" through time?
A>> Not really. We make our songs in the rehearsing-room and if we change anything it's just in small things like a different solo or something like that. We usually record a demo-recording with new songs before we enter the studio to record an album. We have only released to records yet. But we're planning to release another album next year. We made a new demo-recording earlier this year to get a grip on where we're going in music and maybe try some new things that we want to do on the next album.

Q>> Tell me about the way you feel when you create a new song... Does inspiration come every time? Do you need to be in a particular mood to write good songs?
A>> Hard question... I sit with my guitar almost everyday and sometimes I can come up with a new riff and sometimes a whole song. But most of the time nothing happens. I guess I throw a lot of stuff away because I know that it wouldn't work and that the other guys wouldn't like it. When it comes to putting a whole song together, we often work from an idea that I have or the other way around. Sometimes on the rehearsals we try to put things together but it just won't work. Then I take the idea home with me and make a song of it. The mood doesn't really matter, you just put yourself in the "writing mood" I guess. But like I said it's very often that you just end up with a blank screen (I write my lyrics on the computer) and a blank mind.

Q>> Can sad events that happened in your life stimulate your imagination? Lots of songwriters are very productive when they're sad, when they break up with their partner, when someone they love just died etc... What about you?
A>> I guess they can. But very few of our songs are about sad things or about unhappy love. My inspiration comes from videogames, books, movies, dreams and mind trips etc.

Q>> ...which are great sources of inspiration as well, of course. So, what kind of games, books etc. are your faves?
A>> Well I get a lot of inspiration from adventure games like "Final Fantasy" and "Broken Sword" etc. A nice book is "Thiaoouba Prophecy". Favorite movies are all movies that make you start thinking about your existence and stuff like that.

Q>> Escaping from real life through fantasy looks important to you. Why is that so?
A>> Another good question. I don't know, it's fun I guess. But I think fantasy is a very important part of real life! As a kid you learn things by using you imagination; you making a stick into an airplane and make up songs about things that don't exist. You have to be able to think the impossible to make the impossible. Take spacecrafts for an example. People thought that that was just totally impossible. But the idea started in somebody's mind and fantasy. Anyway... I'm interested in philosophy and right now I'm a student of pedagogy at university and that is very interesting and makes you think a lot of how things are the way they are and stuff. The guys in the band and I and other friends often come up with really interesting and wicked thoughts and ideas. We like to play with words and twist things around. Marcus (drums) and I can go on for hours. I am not into any heavy drugs or stuff like that but I can say that I use to open "the doors" once or twice a year. And that helps you on the "fantasy way" a lot I can tell. :-)

Q>> Great, that was my second good question... I guess I should work for a bigger magazine ;) Now, tell me, how do you guys feel as a band? Are you one for all and all for one, like true musketeers?
A>> Yes, we are all good friends. Rickard and I have known each other for 13 years. We started playing together with Marcus in 1993 and Andrey (guitar) joined the band in '98.

Q>> OK, this is gonna be the last question... Do you have faith in the band? Do you think Kaptain Sun will still be there in 10 or 20 years?
A>> Kaptain Sun is gonna get a piece of the action that's for sure. What the future tells we can not say. I know that we are here now and we're pushing the pedal to the metal, and that we're we gonna release more albums and play more gigs. I also now that everybody in the band is in the band to make the band bigger and better. We wont settle for peanuts. :)

RNO

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